tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107419192017-09-24T01:36:01.427-07:00E-mayaLess about technology... more about reality.Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-61320538208212718422017-09-21T11:51:00.001-07:002017-09-21T11:51:38.724-07:00Germany has pulled all its gold from Paris<p dir="ltr"><u>https</u>://qz.com/1060645/germany-has-pulled-all-of-its-gold-out-of-paris/?utm_source=kwfb&amp;kwp_0=515241&amp;kwp_4=1882413&amp;kwp_1=795416</p>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-77179228506228146662017-09-14T14:49:00.001-07:002017-09-14T14:51:37.545-07:00Zero is much older than we thought<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div align="left"><div dir="ltr">The number zero is something we all take for granted, yet its conceptual origin has eluded archaeologists and historians. An updated analysis of an ancient Indian manuscript is shedding new light on this longstanding mystery, showing that the symbol that would eventually evolve into the number zero emerged at least 500 years earlier than previously thought.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjH2iAceZ50/Wbr5UDTcPGI/AAAAAAAAaCE/Z2UDFsjH6aoDRg9h3bQtsxrugeEMi2ICwCLcBGAs/s1600/bpkzph42xwesx0a8k1uz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="800" height="159" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XjH2iAceZ50/Wbr5UDTcPGI/AAAAAAAAaCE/Z2UDFsjH6aoDRg9h3bQtsxrugeEMi2ICwCLcBGAs/s320/bpkzph42xwesx0a8k1uz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div align="left"><div dir="ltr">Carbon dating of the Bakhshali manuscript, a sole surviving copy of a mathematical text, has pushed back the time of origin to between 224 to 383 AD, rather than the 9th and 12th centuries as previous research had suggested. The Bakhshali manuscript is littered with a symbol for zero, as conveyed by a solid black dot, making it the oldest known example of the symbol that would later evolve into a number in its own right.</div></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://gizmodo.com/origin-of-zero-symbol-centuries-older-than-previously-t-1810428439" target="_blank">Read more here</a>&nbsp;at Gizmodo</div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-2186627039317998562017-09-11T13:23:00.000-07:002017-09-14T15:17:43.535-07:00Failed to establish connection with the server. Kindly restart the emsigner. GST filing - click here to troubleshoot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So GST is upon us and we are all in the midst of coming to grips with it.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBpiB4vUdXA/Wbr_-5afDlI/AAAAAAAAaCw/w50Bf2vTSxMx2b1tA-FN8ScEUjMSMFD5wCLcBGAs/s1600/images.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="511" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hBpiB4vUdXA/Wbr_-5afDlI/AAAAAAAAaCw/w50Bf2vTSxMx2b1tA-FN8ScEUjMSMFD5wCLcBGAs/s320/images.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />I have struggled to get the filing with DSC option working with various errors preventing me from filing my returns.<br /><br />Finally, I have devised a system to make it work and I am sharing the step-by-step process here with you. This process should help you eliminate the "Failed to establish connection with server. Kindly restart the emsigner" error.<br /><br />1. I am using a Windows 10 PC.<br />2. I am using a Firefox browser, I find this is most reliable for filing GST returns. I also use Firefox for ESI payments. This is because Firefox still allows you to manage Java a little more than the other browsers.<br />3. I have JAVA runtime installed. I have Version 8 Update 144 installed.<br />4. I have already registered my DSC signature with the GST website.<br />5. I am using a hard USB token, and NOT a digital PFX file.<br />6. I first had to install the epass2003 utility. I downloaded the <a class="repoanchortags" href="http://www.e-mudhra.com/repository/downloads/ePass2003India-Setup.exe" style="background-color: white; color: #f45415; cursor: pointer; font-family: &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;">ePass 2003 Auto (Windows 32/64 Bit)</a>&nbsp;utility from the e-mudhra.com website.<br />7. I also had to install the emsignerGSTN utility. I downloaded the Version 2.6 file from the <a href="https://www.gst.gov.in/help/docsigner" target="_blank">GST website</a>. I installed this as Administrator (right-click on the MSI file and click "Run as Administrator").<br />8. I find that when I plug-in the hard token DSC - I should get a pop-up message "USB Key Inserted" and that should be visible in the system tray. I have three USB ports on my machine - for some reason, this works better on a particular USB port and not as well on the other ports. Something about it being a powered USB ports and whether it supports USB 2.0 and/or USB 3.0. So now I use that USB port only when I need to sign these documents.<br />9. I generally work behind a firewall and proxy server. However, for the GST filing, I find that causes some problems with the port binding, etc and so I switch to a direct WIFI connection and switch off the proxy server before starting the filing.<br />10. Once the USB key inserted message comes, I start the epass2003 software and make sure that the signature is accessible and visible in the epass2003 utility to confirm that the USB key is recognized and working correctly.<br />11. The emsigner service normally works on Port 1585 - we need to provide a Java exception for this. Type "Configure JAVA" and run the Java configuration utility. Click on the Security Tab and then Edit Site List in the Exception Site List section at the bottom. Click on the Add button and add an exception for "https://127.0.0.1:1585" - this will allow Java to communicate with the emsigner utility which runs on the local system on port 1585.<br />12. Now run the Emsigner utility - but start it as Administrator. Type Emsigner and when the utility appears on the Start menu, right click on it and choose "Run as Administrator" - you will get a Windows UAC message asking you to allow the emsigner to run in administrator mode - click Yes.<br />13. Once the service is running - you can see it in the system tray. Right click and choose "open" and you will see the message in the popup saying "running on port 1585".<br />14. Open Firefox and type "https://127.0.0.1:1585" in the URL bar. This will make Firefox give a warning message that the site's security certificate is invalid. Click on Advanced and then add an exception for this URL in Firefox. This will allow the GSTN website to initiate Java on port 1585, which in turn will allow communication with the emsigner.<br />15. Once all this is done - open another tab and login to the GST website and choose the "Sign with DSC" option in your return. This will show a small pop-up stating "Initiating communication" - if this message comes, you have configured everything correctly and you should be able to successfully sign your GST return.<br />16. Look in the Windows Taskbar - and you should see the Java icon running. Click on it and you should see the emsigner utility with your digital signature tokens available on the hard token.<br />17. Choose the correct signature and click on Sign. It will prompt you for the DSC password and provide the same.<br />18. After this - you should get a success message that the return has been successfully signed and filed!<br /><br />Good luck with your GST filings!<br /><br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-62885287439053695392017-08-28T12:09:00.001-07:002017-09-14T15:09:15.702-07:00iPhone or something else?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr"><br />80-yr-old painting shows American with <a href="http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIwirz87DU">smartphone</a>? (Times of India)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>The 'Mr. Pynchon' in Romano's mural is&nbsp;</span>William Pynchon<span>, who's known as the founder of the present-day town of Springfield, Massachusetts, says the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. The painting shows Pynchon in a pink suit. Sitting to his left, below him, is a bare-chested Native American looking as if he's, well, taking a 'selfie'.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: &quot;open sans&quot; , &quot;roboto&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.45px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6lleY__70c/Wbr6thEdfQI/AAAAAAAAaCQ/3XylZn8wK7gIoe-9XSTffKdB_mZPchQnwCLcBGAs/s1600/60254720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="400" height="152" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I6lleY__70c/Wbr6thEdfQI/AAAAAAAAaCQ/3XylZn8wK7gIoe-9XSTffKdB_mZPchQnwCLcBGAs/s320/60254720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">In 2001, a space Odyssey, there is a very visible and almost 100% identical device as the <a href="https://youtu.be/JQ8pQVDyaLo"><u>iPad</u></a>. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JQ8pQVDyaLo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JQ8pQVDyaLo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div><div dir="ltr">What do you all make of it..</div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-33382180974154627772017-08-26T08:53:00.001-07:002017-09-14T15:12:01.262-07:00A new old way to calculate angles!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 2.5rem; margin-bottom: 16px;">3,700-year-old clay tablet has proven that the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/10470443/Pictured-the-real-site-of-the-Hanging-Gardens-of-Babylon.html" style="background: transparent; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(118, 118, 118); border-left-color: rgb(118, 118, 118); border-right-color: rgb(118, 118, 118); border-top-color: rgb(118, 118, 118); box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; padding-bottom: 1px; text-decoration-line: none;">Babylonians&nbsp;</a>developed trigonometry 1,500 years before the Greeks and were using a sophisticated method of mathematics which could change how we calculate today.</div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 2.5rem; margin-bottom: 16px;">The tablet, known as Plimpton 332, was discovered in the early 1900s in Southern Iraq by the American archaeologist and diplomat Edgar Banks, who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones.</div><div data-mediaconductor-processed="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 2.5rem; margin-bottom: 16px;">The true meaning of the tablet has eluded experts until now but new research by the University of New South Wales, Australia, has shown it is the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, which was probably used by ancient architects to construct temples, palaces and canals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VZjIWw0U2CI/Wbr-XZiFy6I/AAAAAAAAaCc/QqHvIBz-JLMNn1oKTDICuoNNRRwVNAdYQCLcBGAs/s1600/tablet_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqrXQPXGvM58CJoUBPwmOnPxU--41c5Cba04Sh5SZbNZ8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VZjIWw0U2CI/Wbr-XZiFy6I/AAAAAAAAaCc/QqHvIBz-JLMNn1oKTDICuoNNRRwVNAdYQCLcBGAs/s320/tablet_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqrXQPXGvM58CJoUBPwmOnPxU--41c5Cba04Sh5SZbNZ8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div data-mediaconductor-processed="true" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 2.5rem; margin-bottom: 16px;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px;">However unlike today’s trigonometry, Babylonian mathematics used a base 60, or sexagesimal system, rather than the 10 which is used today. Because 60 is far easier to divide by three, experts studying the tablet, found that the calculations are far more accurate.</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;Austin News Text Roman&quot;, Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr">Read the whole story at Telegraph:</div><div dir="ltr">An<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/24/3700-year-old-babylonian-tablet-rewrites-history-maths-could/">&nbsp;ancient Babylonian tablet reveals new insights into how trigonometry could be much older than believed till </a><u><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/24/3700-year-old-babylonian-tablet-rewrites-history-maths-could/">now</a></u><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/24/3700-year-old-babylonian-tablet-rewrites-history-maths-could/">.</a></div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-68044794366779872102017-07-22T23:33:00.001-07:002017-09-14T15:14:59.135-07:00Manhattan swapped for a tiny island in SE Asia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr">A very interesting article I read today details how the British bought the village of Manhattan by selling another tiny island called Run, in Indonesia.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQssYHaD7G8/Wbr_XLEahgI/AAAAAAAAaCo/riAtYQQsI18u-Bw6smjxU1HUuZqPBeJSgCLcBGAs/s1600/1500773533654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="380" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQssYHaD7G8/Wbr_XLEahgI/AAAAAAAAaCo/riAtYQQsI18u-Bw6smjxU1HUuZqPBeJSgCLcBGAs/s320/1500773533654.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Run, was an island much in demand, at the time, because it grew Nutmeg whereas Manhattan was a tiny village that had nothing going for it.</div><div dir="ltr">Today, it is the opposite; how the wheels of time work.. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/world/the-real-estate-deal-of-the-millenium-the-forgotten-indonesian-island-that-was-swapped-for-manhattan-20170721-gxfo22.html">read the full article here</a>.</div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-31325811750695892522016-07-08T12:26:00.001-07:002017-09-14T15:22:12.234-07:00Bengaluru: Shiradi ghat tunnel road gets environment department approval<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cTVZzbMFiAs/WbsBCsmpsKI/AAAAAAAAaC8/j5R6_Lam4aQQfja1S8rP5APMc8eayjWFACLcBGAs/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="297" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cTVZzbMFiAs/WbsBCsmpsKI/AAAAAAAAaC8/j5R6_Lam4aQQfja1S8rP5APMc8eayjWFACLcBGAs/s1600/download.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: -16px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: justify;">PWD minister, H C Mahadevappa, informed that the department of environment has given its clearance for laying a tunnel across Shiradi Ghat. The length of the tunnel will be 19 km.</div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: -16px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: justify;">Replying to legislative council member, Kota Srinivas Poojary, during the question hour, the minister informed that navigation becomes problematic at Shiradi Ghat road during the rains. Therefore, a project report for drilling a tunnel for a distance of 19 km has been prepared, which has also been approved by the department of environment. As the tunnel would be dug in an environment-friendly manner, the environment will not be affected by it he clarified.</div><div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: -16px; padding: 0px 20px; text-align: justify;">The minister said that Shiradi Ghat road has several dangerous turns, which have often been responsible for accidents. Therefore, it has been decided to provide a straight alternative road through the tunnel, he stated.</div>Full story at Daijiworld<a href="http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=402971#.V3_-ShWfXyk.blogger">: Shiradi ghat tunnel road gets environment department approval</a></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-1962473875289779782015-11-16T00:21:00.000-08:002017-09-14T15:27:02.724-07:00The real reason people retire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Interesting post and checklist at Fidelity.com<br /><br /><div style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: &quot;Fidelity Sans&quot;; line-height: 1.375; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9.78125px 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">When will you be ready to retire? Particularly if retirement is still far away, you’re probably thinking in terms of dollars—how many you will have and how long they will last. But new research finds that for many people, the decision to retire is not just about money. It’s about life, and the freedom to enjoy it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEjXMB1Q7Fo/WbsCLhJzSRI/AAAAAAAAaDI/s_DUtEhbgaQzd6SujKw7Q-sqwavyzsyZACLcBGAs/s1600/download%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEjXMB1Q7Fo/WbsCLhJzSRI/AAAAAAAAaDI/s_DUtEhbgaQzd6SujKw7Q-sqwavyzsyZACLcBGAs/s1600/download%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><div style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: &quot;Fidelity Sans&quot;; line-height: 1.375; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9.78125px 1em; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: &quot;Fidelity Sans&quot;; line-height: 1.375; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9.78125px 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s the conclusion of an extensive survey of 9,372 preretirees and 2,293 retirees, including 451 people who never plan to retire. The online survey was conducted by Fidelity Investments in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity and Greenwald &amp; Associates<span style="background: 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: -0.3125em; vertical-align: baseline;">1</span>&nbsp;and only included respondents who believed they had some control over if and when they would stop working full-time.</div><div style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: &quot;Fidelity Sans&quot;; line-height: 1.375; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9.78125px 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">While financial and work-related factors are the primary reasons people continue to work, with eligibility for Medicare and Social Security as key factors, the survey also finds that it’s often nonfinancial factors like family, health, and lifestyle that ultimately cause people to pull the trigger to retire. Among retirees, 72% chose leisure as a very or somewhat strong reason to retire, 64% pointed to stress at work, and 62% cited a desire to spend more time with grandchildren.</div><div style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; font-family: &quot;Fidelity Sans&quot;; line-height: 1.375; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 9.78125px 1em; vertical-align: baseline;">Full article:<a href="https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/time-to-retire?" style="background-color: transparent;" target="_blank">Time to retire?</a></div><br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-38514631024459265442015-01-23T12:20:00.001-08:002015-01-23T12:20:22.359-08:0016 things from a-to-z<p dir="ltr"><u>If</u> you are in the tech world, change is a constant. </p><p dir="ltr">And to keep up with change, you need to keep looking for emerging trends.</p><p dir="ltr">Here are 16 from one of the best in the market - its a good read.</p><p dir="ltr"><a href="http://a16z.com/2015/01/22/16-things/"><u>Andreessen</u></a><a href="http://a16z.com/2015/01/22/16-things/"> Horowitz</a></p>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-47173814824405619402015-01-22T00:09:00.001-08:002015-01-22T00:09:41.746-08:00Bhakti Sharma sets new world record in swimming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://s1.firstpost.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/result-231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://s1.firstpost.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/result-231.jpg" border="0" src="http://s1.firstpost.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/result-231.jpg" height="240" title="" width="320" /></a>Bhakti Sharma sets new world record swimming in the Antarctic Ocean and is only the third person ever to have achieved this feat. Wow!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">News that should have been on Page 1 but was buried on Page 11 as a small snippet.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Read more details here on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.firstpost.com/sports/see-small-big-icebergs-moving-says-record-breaking-antarctic-swimmer-bhakti-sharma-2057389.html" target="_blank">Firstpost</a>&nbsp;and you can get the stats at the&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_Sharma" target="_blank">Wikepedia page</a>.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /></div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-77953772042548851692015-01-21T23:08:00.003-08:002015-01-21T23:08:52.552-08:00Ancient tunnel found in Mysuru<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2015/01/21/454835_thump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2015/01/21/454835_thump.jpg" border="0" src="http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2015/01/21/454835_thump.jpg" height="214" title="" width="320" /></a></div><br /><strong style="color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">An ancient tunnel was discovered on Tuesday near Vishwamanava Park at Gun House circle in Mysuru. The tunnel was unearthed while laying new sewer drains. Since then curious people have been thronging to the spot.&nbsp;</strong><br /><strong style="color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></strong><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 18px;"><b>Read the whole story here:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/454835/ancient-tunnel-unearthed-mysuru.html" target="_blank">Deccan Herald story</a></b></span></span><br /><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #363636; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333330154419px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-8452334841198836662015-01-11T00:07:00.001-08:002015-01-15T23:56:07.652-08:0010 crores for thermocol replica, 1 crore for the original<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr">Some days I am at a complete loss for words when I see news such as this..</div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-fake-mistake/articleshow/45839363.cms">125 crores to build thermocol replica. 10 crores annual maintenance. 1 </a><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-fake-mistake/articleshow/45839363.cms">crore</a><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-fake-mistake/articleshow/45839363.cms"> maintenance on the real </a><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-fake-mistake/articleshow/45839363.cms">monument</a><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/home/stoi/deep-focus/The-fake-mistake/articleshow/45839363.cms">.</a><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajanta_Caves" target="_blank">Read more about the Ajanta Caves</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/85/23/66_big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/85/23/66_big.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panoramic View of Ajanta Caves</td></tr></tbody></table><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-27845587314927221622014-09-23T04:44:00.003-07:002014-09-23T05:08:01.675-07:00Your security settings have blocked a self-signed application from running - Returns filing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The above dreaded message keeps giving nightmares to all those who have to do any government filing in India - whether it's with the Ministry of Company Affairs (<a href="https://mca.gov.in/">https://mca.gov.in</a>) or with the Department of Income Tax (<a href="https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/">https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in</a>) and many other websites.<br /><br />When you get to the point where you want to digitally sign the document, the JAVA applet will fail to load and give the following error:<br /><br />"Your security settings have blocked a self-signed application from running"<br /><br />or some other similar error.<br /><br />This will happen in both Chrome or Internet Explorer.<br /><br />The reason for this is not so much the browser where we try to tweak all the settings but more to do with Java itself.<br /><br />Facing a lot of criticism over security risks with Java applets and applications, newer versions of Java Runtime Engine (JRE) block almost all applications which do not have a trusted signature source.<br /><br />This is the workaround that will make this issue go away and allow you to file your documents!<br /><br /><strong>As a workaround</strong>, you can use the <b>Exception Site list</b> feature to run the applications blocked by security settings. Adding the URL of the blocked application to the Exception Site list allows it to run with some warnings. <br /><h4 class="sub">Steps to Add URLs to the Exception Site list</h4><span class="bodytext"></span> <span class="bodytext"></span><br /><ul><li>In Windows - Click Start / Windows Quick Menu and type "Configure Java" in the "Search Programs" text box</li><li>This will open the <b>Java Control Panel</b></li><li>Click on the <b>Security</b> tab</li><li>Click on the <b>Edit Site List</b> button</li><li>Click <b>Add</b> in the Exception Site List window<br /><br /><img alt="Add url to Exception Site list" class="ctralign" src="http://www.java.com/ga/images/en/add_url.jpg" /></li><li>Click in the empty field under the Location field to enter the URL<br /><br /><b>Example</b>: For Income Tax website -&nbsp;https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/</li><li><br /> (URL should begin with <b>http://</b> or <b>https://</b>)<br /><br /><img class="alertimg" src="http://www.java.com/ga/images/ic_tipblue20x20.png" /> If the URL where the applet is hosted is different from the URL of the web page from which the applet is launched, then <strong>you will need to add both the URL for the applet as well as the URL for the web page.</strong> </li></ul><div>Source:&nbsp;http://www.java.com/en/download/help/java_blocked.xml</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope this solves your problems, it did mine!&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-76266718683676881252013-11-13T06:15:00.001-08:002013-11-13T06:15:52.032-08:00Great rural land rush: 3 to 100-fold rise in farm land prices may not bode well<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/great-rural-land-rush-3-to-100-fold-rise-in-farm-land-prices-may-not-bode-well/articleshow/25607513.cms#.UoOJTc7mvUc.blogger">Great rural land rush: 3 to 100-fold rise in farm land prices&nbsp;</a></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-9487857528680763852013-08-18T01:14:00.000-07:002013-08-18T01:14:54.598-07:00How to update the firmware of D-Link DSL-2750U wireless router<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So, I have had the router for almost 2 years now and there haven't been any significant problems as such.<br /><br />Recently, I moved the router location as I doing some renovation and it's now placed in another room. This resulted in a fairly large drop in signal performance and now many corners of the house show poor signal.<br /><br />So, while trying to resolve this problem, I remembered a long pending task on the router. To update the firmware! The default firmware 1.00 had a new version 1.10 out in 2011 - but I had tried earlier and spent 2-3 evenings trying to unsuccessfully update this firmware and had finally given up.<br /><br />This time I thought I will try it again and I was successful, after a little bit of a hit-and-miss! If you also want to update your firmware, here's my list of things-to-do that will hopefully help you update it without any hassles.<br /><br />0. Check your firmware version by looking at System Info on admin interface of the router.<br />1. Get the latest firmware from D-link India site -&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dlink.co.in/products/?pid=452" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">D-Link India site</a>&nbsp;- click on Support and then Firmware.<br />2. It's version 1.10 as of now and comes as zip file.<br />3. Extracting the zip file will give you a .IMG file with a very long name.<br />4. I recommend you rename this file to a short "dsl-2750u.img"<br />5. I also recommend that you then put this file in your C:\ drive root folder rather than in a sub-directory.<br />6. Now, connect your laptop physically to the router using a RJ-45 network - the regular Ethernet cable.<br />7. Disconnect wi-fi access on your computer by disconnecting from the wi-fi network of the router or disable wi-fi temporarily.<br />8. Make sure that you are connected via Ethernet by browsing the web, and checking the network icon in your system tray.<br />9. I recommend that you switch off the wi-fi service on the router by pressing the WIFI button located next to the USB port on the router. The wifi icon will go off on the router.<br />10. I strongly recommend that you use Internet Explorer to complete this task.<br />11. Browse to the Admin User Interface of the router by browsing the management IP - typically 192.168.1.1 and give your user name and password.<br />12. Go to Management menu item on the left and then click on "update software".<br />13. Select the file from the C:\ folder using the browse button.<br />14. Click on upload software. In my case, every time I had to press the button twice :-) - but if you have pressed it correctly, you will get a message "Update is progress - please wait for a minute"<br />15. Don't do anything else!<br />16. WAIT.<br />17. WAIT.<br />18. You should see a new screen showing upload in progress.<br />19. Don't do anything - WAIT.<br />20. Keep waiting - if you observe your router, the buttons will flash at some point and indicate that it is restarting.<br />21. Subsequently, your page should refresh and the home page of the management interface should reload.<br />22. If everything went well - your system should show System version as 1.10!<br />23, Press the WIFI button again to restart the wifi service and use your newly upgraded modem/router!<br /><br />Happy upgrading!<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-30402960586252302852011-09-29T01:19:00.000-07:002011-09-29T01:19:10.566-07:00E-filing India Income Tax Return Incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in (fakepath error, null error)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />As all those of you in the accounts and audit profession may be aware, the corporate Income Tax returns are due by September 30th.&nbsp;It is mandatory for the returns to be digitally signed for corporate assesses.<br /><br />As usual in the last minute rush, the biggest problem is when you are not able to upload the return due to an error in the incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in website.<br /><br />Here are two common errors and their solutions:<br /><br />Can not read the file for signing c:\fakepath\xxxx.xml<br /><br />The problem is with Internet Explorer - to solve this problem - add "https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in" website to your Trusted Sites - by going to "Tools -&gt; Internet Options". Once you do this - the problem will go away!!<br /><br />Error in Upload of ITR<br />null<br />Error in parsing XML file. please upload correct XML return<br /><br />For this error, make sure that the email address mentioned in the Profile under MyAccount is the same as that which is mentioned in the return. If not update the email address and logout. Login afresh and try to upload again.<br /><br />Please don't forget to update your digital signature in the MyAccount section of the website.<br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-18842707271417885952011-07-22T14:21:00.000-07:002013-09-06T02:51:15.142-07:00How to configure USB Hard Drive on D-link DSL-2750U Wireless N 300 ADSL2+ Modem Router<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Technology is funny. My old modem at home had suddenly started acting funny and would not auto-reconnect to the internet after a sudden power loss. So, I decided I needed to change the modem.<br /><br />A few enquiries later, I learnt that it's really difficult to buy a modem alone directly - I would need to buy a modem+router combo. In other words, I have to junk my perfectly working Wireless Router to fix my Modem.<br /><br />Well, as they say, que sera que sera.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQOZ-xqhcjb-eDVvIA2i0zxEX4MxCkBJmGeOniiE3p0hGBPkmBIow" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQOZ-xqhcjb-eDVvIA2i0zxEX4MxCkBJmGeOniiE3p0hGBPkmBIow" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">D-Link DSL-2750U Wireless N Modem Router</td></tr></tbody></table>I decided to use the opportunity and get myself a slightly better modem router which also has a USB port so that I can use my USB Hard drive (that is almost always sitting there unused since I am too lazy to plug it in) on the wireless network.<br /><br />A little bit of research and after shortlisting two different makes of Belkin &amp; D-Link - I decided to plump for the D-link DSL-2750U model.<br /><br />So it came and I started getting everything up and running. All worked fine except the USB Hard drive. Can't seem to find any way of connecting to the hard drive from the wi-fi network. When I plug-in the drive to the modem, it lights up and is recognized. But how to access it from my laptop?<br /><br />The manual talks about installing a USB Remote NDIS Device Driver or a USB ADSL 1.3 driver - none of which came with the packaging nor can I find it anywhere on the internet.<br /><br />About four hours of hunting and going through the debugging system log - found the answer and for the benefit of other buyers of this generally useful product - here's the solution:<br /><br />1. Plug-in the USB drive.<br />2. Switch on/Restart the model-router.<br />3. Wait for a few minutes till it finishes all the negotiations, etc. I would say five minutes is a good time to give it.<br />4. Make sure the USB Icon on your modem is lit.<br />5. In windows explorer - type the following path to access your hard drive<br /><br />\\192.168.1.1\u_disk\usb1_1\<br /><br />where the IP address is the IP address of your modem - default is 192.168.1.1.<br /><br />If all goes well, you should be able to see your hard drive contents now! A good idea would be to map this location with "Map Network Drive" so you can access it easily whenever you want.<br /><br /><b><u>Update 5th September 2013:</u></b><br /><div>Many of you have asked me how to access it from Apple or Linux devices. Many of you have also asked me that the device asks for username and password. Please note that default username and password for router interface is admin / admin.</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Please ensure that you upgrade your firmware as explained in my other post recently.</div><div>2. Please have a look at his extremely useful <a href="http://hewmc.blogspot.in/2011/09/using-d-link-dsl-2750us-storage-service.html" target="_blank">guide from Hew</a>&nbsp;which clearly tells you how to access from other OS and also how to create username and password to access your storage device.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Hope you all find this useful.</div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com77tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-20568593618093327662011-06-08T03:25:00.000-07:002011-06-08T03:25:53.060-07:00Look east, north east...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of the thoughts that often runs through my mind is about how little the rest of India knows about our country to the north-east.<br /><br />With a background of having my ancestors having zamindari in Bogra district in East Bengal (now Bangladesh), becoming refugees and making a hometown in Calcutta and a brother-in-law from Assam, I must say I have an enduring interest in the north-east.<br /><br />&nbsp;There is much to see and learn about the north-east. Like the north and south of India being very diverse and different from each other, so the north-east is really unique and different from the rest of India. In the last decade or so, there has been a lot more of understanding between the north and the south, and more and more people appreciate and understand the differences.<br /><br />It would be great to have similar interaction and understanding and integration with the north-east. Our prime minister who represents the State of Assam and prime ministers before him have extensive schemes and money-spending programs to achieve this better understanding/integration.<br /><br />But it doesn't appear to have yielded too much effort on the ground and the north-east remains a little known large corner of India.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Mountains_of_Arunachal_Pradesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Mountains_of_Arunachal_Pradesh.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountains of Arunachal Pradesh (credit: Appaji)</td></tr></tbody></table>In my view - the best way is to encourage interaction. The government<b><u> should provide a subsidy in the form of say Rs. 5000 on every air-ticket to any of the capitals of the north-eastern states from the rest of India</u></b> (maybe with the exception of West Bengal given its proximity and business ties already existing). This subsidy could be directly provided to the airlines for actual tickets sold and&nbsp;traveled&nbsp;upon. &nbsp;It would be leakage-resistant and not easy to misuse. If the scheme were to run for a period of say two years - the incremental traffic to the north-east would boom. Every tourist from the rest of India would spend a large amount of money in the destination - the economy would improve. The awareness and understanding of the people and land of north-east amongst the rest of India would go up phenomenally. In my view, this 5000 would be very well spent as compared to so many other schemes that the government runs as part of its north-east development program.<br /><br />What do you think?<br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-29805347810925857012011-03-02T06:13:00.000-08:002015-01-15T23:59:31.983-08:00Hidden Treasure at Emar Math, near Puri Temple<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.orissadiary.com/shashwat/images/allnewsimage/24897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.orissadiary.com/shashwat/images/allnewsimage/24897.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.orissadiary.com/shashwat/images/allnewsimage/24897.jpg</td></tr></tbody></table>Like the stuff of so many hidden treasure stories, the Orissa police cracked a case and found more than 522 bricks of pure silver, each weighing between 35 to 40 kilos, in a hidden room inside the Emar Math.<br /><br />The Emar Math is housed in a 200-year old dilapidated structure just a stone's throw from the world famous Puri Jagannath temple.<br /><br />The total value of the of the silver is assessed at over Rupees 90 crore and weighing almost 20 tonnes. Apparently, each brick is embossed with seals of countries like UAE, Japan, China and Dubai.<br /><br />Surprisingly the Indian press didn't give it large coverage, relegating it to small news items in inner pages of the newspaper. I would have thought a find like this should have been reported more prominently...<br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-52219315455539539992011-02-17T09:31:00.000-08:002011-02-17T09:47:45.517-08:00The Dune<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/exhibits/scifi/images/dune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/exhibits/scifi/images/dune.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>There's a desert. In the desert, there's a commodity which the whole world wants. Once you have had a taste of it, you get addicted and cannot be without it.<br /><br />The desert is ruled as a fiefdom where there is a Baron who rules over the land and the people of the land. The natives of the land are treated as dirty, filthy, uncouth creatures who have weird traditions and silly beliefs. The Baron has his men mine the commodity for sale to the rest of the world.<br /><br />There's an all-powerful king who is the leader of the world. He controls all the supply of this commodity. He controls the Baron and the appointment, change of guard and exit of who rules this land.<br /><br />The king derives his power from his powerful army/weapons. The army is made strong and ruthless by having them serve in extremely hostile and inhuman conditions in terrible parts of the world. The king believes that although many will die while on those assignments - those who survive will be thoroughly ruthless and amongst the strongest.<br /><br />A mafia controls the trading of the commodity. This mafia and its men are even more powerful than the king, because they know they can choke the supply of the commodity and thereby choke the king's hold over the rest of the world.<br /><br />A Duke of this region has become powerful and has started having an army which is becoming as strong and may become even stronger than the king's army. The king plots to assassinate this Duke.<br /><br />The local urban population of the desert areas suffer under the rule of the king's Duke but do not rise up in rebellion because they are busy trying to live their lives and hoping to rise up above their economic levels to match the foreigners.<br /><br />I don't know if the above sounds like a story of the current world scenario... but it is my introduction to a wonderful story of a book called "Dune" written by Frank Herbert in 1965. Wonderful book, sci-fi mixed with politics and religion - a great read!<br /><br /></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-83066922467061398102011-02-10T10:59:00.000-08:002011-02-10T10:59:00.749-08:00ISA Server 2004 Enterprise Edition - Installation, configuration tips and tricks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: left;">I recently upgraded one of our servers from ISA 2000 to ISA 2004 (yeah, yeah, I know that sounds like really old technology) - but so it was.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Found that the upgrade was a far more bigger headache than it should have been because of some changes in the way ISA 2004 works as compared to the earlier version. Hence, here are some tips and tricks that may help you save some time and not spend few days scratching your head.</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Make sure the Windows server is up to date and is 32-bit, mine was Windows 2003 32-bit.</li><li>Install the latest Windows service pack.</li><li>You can't or shouldn't preferably install ISA on your Domain controller.&nbsp;</li><li>You can join the ISA machine to your domain which we did.</li><li>Your ISA machine will normally have two network cards - one for the internal LAN and the other for the external WAN.</li><li>It is very important that you only specify the DNS servers of your internal LAN and not the external DNS servers of your ISP. In other words, your internal LAN card will have your internal DNS servers but your external WAN card should not have any DNS servers specified.</li><li>If this is not followed, your ISA Server will lose the domain credentials once you reboot the server and all systems will stop - the event viewer will have a "RPC Server unavailable" error along with many other consequential errors. This link is a good example of the errors you will encounter -&nbsp;<a href="http://www.eggheadcafe.com/aspnet_answers/isaenterprise/Aug2006/post27617673.asp">http://www.eggheadcafe.com/aspnet_answers/isaenterprise/Aug2006/post27617673.asp</a></li><li>Do not specify a Default Gateway on your internal LAN card.</li><li>The default gateway on your external WAN card will be the Router IP.</li><li>The old ISA stored all its configuration data in Active Directory on the DC. ISA 2004 stores its data in an LDAP version of AD called ADAM.&nbsp;</li><li>This data is stored in what is called a Configuration Storage Server. Hence you cannot join the old ISA server enterprise as another array.</li><li>As a first step, you need to install the Configuration Storage Server. We installed this on the ISA machine itself - preferably install on a different machine for better redundancy.</li><li>Once this is installed, go ahead and install ISA Server 2004 and also the latest Service Pack 3.</li><li>ISA 2004 comes with a migration wizard that you can run on ISA 2000 and export the configuration as an XML file. Preferably run this wizard on the ISA 2000 server itself and export all the configuration to an XML file.</li><li>Please note that NO RULES are exported and cannot be migrated. The Export will basically take care of all the destination sets, protocols, etc.</li><li>Export at the root level and import also at the root level of the enterprise in ISA 2004.</li><li>This import will create the Enterprise policy which existed in ISA 2000 as a similar enterprise policy in 2004 with the objects but sans the rules.</li><li>For the ISA machine to allow internet access, you will need to configure DNS resolving.</li><li>On your domain's DNS server, go to Forwarders and for "All other DNS Domains" - add the IP addresses of your ISP's DNS servers. This essentially means that your network will route the internet access requests to your DNS server for resolving which in turn will retrieve the same from your ISP's DNS servers.</li><li>Once you have configured the DNS server for forwarding - create your DNS servers as Network Objects in ISA Server 2004 i.e. as Computer objects - give their name and IP address.</li><li>Now you want to create a rule "Forward DNS Requests to ISP" which ALLOWS all traffic from your INTERNAL DNS SERVER Computers to External Network and for ALL USERS.&nbsp;</li><li>Once this is done - you can check by opening the command prompt on your ISA machine and typing NSLOOKUP followed by a domain like google.com. IF all is setup well, you should get a response from your internal DNS server with the IP address of the requesteed domain.</li><li>Set the default gateway on the network card of your DNS server machine to point to the ISA Server box.&nbsp;</li><li>This is a good link to better understand the DNS configuration -&nbsp;<a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc302590.aspx">http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc302590.aspx</a></li><li><a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc302590.aspx"></a>After this create an Network object for your internal domain (say ABC.com) and specify the IP range that your domain is using (for example 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.0.255).</li><li>Create a NETWORK RULE to take all traffic from Internal Network to External Network as NAT.</li><li>Add an Enterprise Rule to ALLOW all HTTP / HTTPS / SMTP / POP3 protocols from Internal Network to External Network for all users.</li><li>Go to your Array server node, under configuration, bind the Internal Network with the ABC.com object that you specified. This tells the ISA machine which are the internal IP addresses.</li><li>Under Configuration - General - Firewall Client configuration - change the "Outlook" entry from 0 to 1.</li><li>Under network properties - allow Web Proxy clients and set authentication to integrated, preferably with "Must authenticate" set to true.</li><li>Under the same tab, define the Proxy client settings for automatic configuration and give the name of your machine for resolution - isa.abc.com for example.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div>If all goes well, by this time, you will have your ISA Server functional and a client computer should be able to access the internet through your firewall. It's a good time to back up your configuration!</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-21860505370498912452011-01-27T08:09:00.000-08:002011-01-27T08:09:02.337-08:00Book review: John Grisham - The Confession<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS0wlFdBxbZ1k7W4efqyHsVDrDuzYqL75c03dZAY3g-QWbN6ag0bw" /></div><br />I haven't read a John Grisham for a while now and so picked up this new book anticipating another fast-paced racy legal thriller.<br /><br />The Confession is fast-paced but a little dry. The story of a convicted serial-rapist dying of a tumor who decides at the last minute to confess and thus save a wrongly-convicted man from being hanged. All this through the help of a reluctant but righteous Lutheran priest.<br />But in reality the book is a die-hard votary and a strong plea for abolishing the death penalty. Set in Texas, the death penalty capital and in a "culturally" black-white separated community, the book is a great read if you are wanting to debate within the pros and cons of hanging someone.<br /><br />But if you are like me, who picked it up for a great story and as a light read, its disappointing. Its a nice well-meaning novel which wears its conscience clearly on its sleeve - but its not the Grisham that I was looking to read!</div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-77751447146393532382011-01-17T09:06:00.000-08:002011-01-17T09:40:03.165-08:00Eureka - 3 feet of water at 5 feet!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nachi.org/images10-2/wellwall.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://shop.wateraid.org/images/images/2008/M/Materials-for-a-hang-dug-well-CS.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 338px;" src="http://shop.wateraid.org/images/images/2008/M/Materials-for-a-hang-dug-well-CS.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How to dig a well - by hand (open dug well)</span><br /><br />It's been a long time that we have been trying to get some regular source of drinking water supply at the farm. The neighbors have started acting stingy in allowing us to draw water from their wells. It was about time that we made a 3rd attempt I thought.<br /><br />Digging a well in a rural-Indian village is not a simple matter. There aren't that many people around still doing it, so first you got to find someone who is in this line of work.<br />Then there's the weather thing - you can't dig in the rainy season (duh, every thing will have water!). You should ideally dig in the peak of summer because if you find water at that time, it is very likely your well will always have water in the peak summertime in future. BUT, since well-diggers are few and far between, they are in high demand and it's very unlikely you will find somebody in the peak of summer to do this for you in your remote little farm!<br /><br />Plus you have to know where to dig. This is a tough one - how do you know where to dig? Well, you get a water diviner - who will come and tell you where to dig. Amongst the many ways that they could do this (aside from using scientific equipment) - the two most popular ones involve the use of a coconut or the use of a y-shaped tree branch. It's quite an interesting thing to watch. The coconut water diviner will put the coconut pointy-side facing upwards in his open palm, arm outstretched at the elbow and then start walking around. At certain points, the coconut moves a bit - seeing adequate movement he slows and down and concentrates his steps in that area - and voila - at some particular point, the coconut just tips over out of the palm! The stronger the water current below - the faster / harder it will tip over. At this time, the water diviner can also suggest how many feet down they have to go to get the water. Talk about modern technology! The twig is similar - the diviner holds it in his two hands (one end each of the y) and the tail pointing out - as he walks around - the Y takes on a power of its own and starts to bend up-or-down as it senses water. I have tried both techniques myself with very little luck - neither coconut nor branch shows any inclination of moving!<br />If all this is not enough - there is one thing nobody can predict - rock. Water they can predict, but in the process of digging, if they find stone - then you give up. For that's the end of the well. Maybe there's water underneath the rock, but nobody's going to dig below that. How can you?<br /><br />So anyway, we tried to make our first well two years ago - in the peak of summer - got the well-digger, got the water-diviner, chose a nice location near to the shed-house and started digging. About 15 feet in, a nice round hole in the ground ready, we hit some partially-hard rock. The diggers said they saw ghosts at night and promptly left next morning. So that was that of well #1.<br /><br />Last year, we tried agian. New well-digger guy. Two water diviners - one coconut and one Y branch. Matched the locations till we found one that both agreed had plenty of water. They predicted there were three veins of water running below and all three joined at this precise spot. Imagine my good luck! Well (sic), we started afresh to dig a well. All went well. For 15 full feet. and then we hit partially-hard rock. My well-digger's men had stomach upset and would come back soon. Like in the next century. So that was that of well #2.<br />And so here we are in 2011 with well #3. Same well-digger of year 1. Promises that this time, we will make it happen, come what may. I was asked to be prepared to get dynamite if the need arose. Prices about double that of year 1. Desperation at about three times of year 1 and therefore price-elasticity is very high. On an auspicious note one morning they started. By afternoon, they had done about 4 feet. Late afternoon, 5 feet. And Boom - gushing water. Not a trickle. Not a small rivulet. Here was a gushing river - filling up the well with 3ft of water in 10 minutes! Hooray!<br /><br />Now comes the balance hard work of actually making this well and finishing it. I hope to have good updates for you in the near future. Oh, to finish the class:<br />1. So you need to book your well-digger early - just after the rains. Like November maybe. Get him to start like in December. Once he finds water, he will go away and dig some more - at other people's farms and villages. He will keep doing this - find water and move on. No water in 2 days - abandon and move on. Then he will come back after a couple of months and make the concrete rings and leave them to set. Then he will come back in the peak of summer - ensure depth is adequate and water is still there. If it is - you have got yourself a nice well that you can now finish, seal and hopefully have perennial water supply.<br /><img src="http://www.nachi.org/images10-2/wellwall.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 433px; height: 325px;" border="0" alt="" />2. Choose the lowest position in your farm - the lower you are (closer to sea level :-) - the more likely you are going to find water.<br /><br />Hopefully we will end up with something like this.<div><br />More to come, stay tuned.</div><div><br /></div><div>P.S. Images aren't our farm's. Copyright of images acknowledged. </div>Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-79874419398752221582011-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:002011-01-17T09:05:41.593-08:00Kid DictionaryKids have an amazing way of looking at the world differently, and I am left speechless every other day when my 3-something suddenly comes up with a new one!<br /><br />In an hopefully ongoing series, I am starting here with 2 interesting kid dictionary anecdotes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Optimum</span><br />The other day my son standing in the backseat of the car suddenly said "you are going too fast, please drive little slowly." and I slowed down - then he said "you are going too slow, you must drive *warm*". Hmm... now what did that mean. So my son explained - "warm" like when you give me milk - not too hot and not too cold - just right. So now I realized for something to be "just right" or optimum - it has to be warm! <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">How to earn money kiddy-style</span><br />Then there was the time we went on vacation and I saw this really amazing house by the cliff, and jokingly told my son that he has to buy it for me when he grows up. He looked at me very seriously and said yeah, okay, no problem. So I said, how will you earn the money for it? <br /><br />He said by eating 'raita' (curd) and we all burst out laughing. To encourage my son to eat his raita, I had on occasion told him that he would get a coin for his piggy bank if he ate raita. And that was his solution - he could earn money by eating raita and then buy me the fancy house by the cliff!Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10741919.post-73546429160194513452010-11-25T10:15:00.000-08:002010-11-25T10:16:31.097-08:00After the sunriseits a beautiful day<br />bright and full of sunshine<br />after all the pain<br />its a day to revive<br /><br />yesterday there was thunder<br />and lightning <br />struck so many times<br />you couldn't have counted<br />every time it came <br />every point it touched<br />it lit up the darkness<br />making right the wrongs<br />making good from bad<br /><br />the leaves are green <br />glistening from the rains <br />that came this afternoon<br />it washed away all the grime<br />it cleaned the land<br />and swept away the years, <br />a whole lot of memories too<br /><br />last night the forests woke up<br />singing in a joyous chorus<br />in tens and hundreds<br />they sprouted<br />breaking the chains<br />reclaiming their right<br /><br />there's laughter everywhere<br />children playing everywhere<br />playing with the birds and the squirrels<br />and all of god's creations<br />in the playground he's built<br /><br />the seas are quieter <br />or so they seem to be<br />they weren't yesterday<br />its as if the tide <br />has turned today<br /><br />yesterday he came <br />on his steed with wings<br />from shambhala he rode<br />the most beatiful horse<br />you have never seen<br /><br />time to take stock<br />and rack up the numbers<br />it was a revelation<br />how quickly it all took place<br />at the end of the day<br />most didn't even have a chance <br />to look, less to speak<br /><br />did you make it through<br />did you pass the night?<br />will I see you soon,<br />did you see the new sun rise?<br />and when you were judged<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">what was your score?<br /></span><br /><br />November 2010Anandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15578976518689055110noreply@blogger.com1